


The Pretender

by Opossumtivity



Category: Adventure Time
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Fluff, but besides that it's still a Fern story, implied Finn the human/Reader, maybe a little bit of angst, pretending to be someone you're not
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2019-07-15 22:15:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16072439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Opossumtivity/pseuds/Opossumtivity
Summary: Fern has always been jealous of Finn. He'll do whatever it takes to get you to notice him, even if it means going through the trouble of pretending to be someone he isn't.





	1. I'm not him... but i can pretend.

The grasslands are a simple yet beautiful area, with its vibrant green hills and vast sky filled with fluffy white clouds. The bright sunlight felt warm against your skin, thin blades of grass brushing the skin at your ankles with every step you took, getting closer to the large tree house in the distance. You were always happy to visit Finn and Jake, they were the ones who inspired you to leave the comfort of your home and pursue adventure after all, however there a mixed feeling in your gut today.

You recently went to explore a dungeon that was packed to the brim with traps and dangerous monsters, it wasn't a problem for you though, since you have always been a sneaky girl since birth. Excitement was coursing through your veins since you wanted to show Finn the shiny new treasure you found in hopes of impressing him, however the nerves were also getting to you since you worried he might think it's a lame treasure and might brush you off. You were mortified at the thought.

"Ugh-! I feel like an utter dweeb "you muttered under your breath, shaking your head to the sides.

You couldn't help it. It's probably because of this damn little crush you have on him after all.

In hopes of calming your nerves you hummed a small melody during the rest of your walk, griping the shiny weapon in your hands. Wishing for the best.

* * *

 

Inside the tree house Finn was nowhere to be seen. Fern was sitting on the couch instead, something was clearly bothering him since there was a hint of a frown on his face, he simply slouched on his seat as he watched Jake walk back and forth.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" The magical dog asked for the fifth time, grabbing a bag along with his hat, for he was ready to leave to the grocery kingdom.

"Yeah, it's okay bro, I'll stay here and watch the fort while you're gone. Besides, I don't think Finn will be back anytime soon from visiting his wizard lady friend" Fern reassured with a fake smile, not convincing Jake in the slightest but he couldn't do much if the grass boy didn't want to join him.

"Alright buddy if you say so, just do me a favor and turn that frown upside down" the dog said with a playful tone, no doubt trying to cheer up the lad.

Fern didn't want to worry the dog so he pondered for a second before shifting his body to sit upside-down on the couch, effectively making his frown upside down, this small action brought a smile to Jake's face. "Hah, nice one. I'll be back soon bro" and with that Jake stretched his way out of the window, leaving Fern alone in the tree house with Nepter and BMO, wherever they were.

Fern removed himself from the couch with a sigh, dragging his feet into Finn and Jake's room where he stood in front of a body mirror. The grass boy observed his reflection with frustration and a little sadness in his eyes. He felt inferior to Finn, he tried to become his own person by becoming Fern the human but things weren't working out for him. Finn was confident and everyone liked him, Fern was a ball of insecurity and he's pretty sure everyone sees him as a grass version of Finn, just a shadow of the popular adventurer.

Fern used his grass like abilities to shift the color of his appearance and make himself look exactly like Finn including the metal arm, it was a nice trick he learned a while ago that fooled Jake a few times. Although the reflection was no longer his, he couldn't help but feel that things would be so much better if he was the real Finn.

Sure, he had his and Finn’s memories, but they were just that… memories.

Fern doesn’t know what it is like to eat meatloaf, to kiss someone, to feel delicate snowflakes touch his face, but most importantly to feel that intimate and emotional connection with someone.

He hasn’t had any close friendships during his time of living, heck he felt most people were either afraid or just didn’t trust him, so he knew it would take a while to experience those things by his own hand.

* * *

 

"Finn! Jake! you guys home?" a familiar feminine voice boomed through the tree house as you peeked you head through the hole that lead to Finn and Jake's room.

Fern recognized that voice. He remembers, through Finn's memories, that you're a close friend of his. Loyal, Fun and always ready to jump into action or give a helping hand, he remembers you dearly but couldn't see you as nothing more but an older sibling. You were good at giving advice and patching him up.

"There you are! what are you doing checking yourself out in the mirror-? come down i got something to show you". you said rather excitingly, lowering yourself down the ladder as you waited for, who you thought was Finn Mertens.

The sudden shout made Fern jump to his feet in surprise, although he was relieved to see it was just you he couldn't help but feel embarrassed due to being caught at staring himself in the mirror. "Stupid boy" he muttered to himself. The grass boy passed a hand through his face with a sigh, he might as well pretend to be Finn until you leave.  
"What did you wanted to show me?" Fern imitated Finn's more upbeat and happy voice, being used to after some practice.

You grinned mischievously as you pulled out a sharp silver colored sword, it had pointy edges that were so sharp they could cut your eyesight by just looking at it. "Look at this bad boy right here" you displayed with a hint of pride, raising it in your hands so 'Finn' could give it a peek.

"Whoa, this looks pretty awesomesauce-!" Fern was marveled as he took the sword in his hands to give it a closer look before returning it to its owner "Where did you get it from?" he asked, genuinely curious while guiding his guest to sit at the couch after the long walk she must've took.

"You remember that dungeon between the mountains and the nightmare kingdom? well I found a way inside and kicked everyone's butt just to get it" you had a triumph smile on your face even though you weren't completely honest, however that couldn't stop the swell of happiness coming from the other's approval.

"Damn really? isn't that place like, super deadly with traps and whatever-? That's just rad... You're rad" the fake Finn smiled as he gave your shoulder a playful fist bump, it was an odd yet endearing action.

The small gesture made you stomach flutter and your cheeks feel warm.

"Thanks, but honestly, i want you to have it Finn..." You raised your hands to offer the sword to Finn, avoiding looking at him straight in the eyes "If it weren't for you I wouldn't have found the bravery to explore and become an adventurer like you, I've been to so many places and gained lots of experience thanks to you" you felt your heart pounding against your rib cage, why were you feeling shy all of the sudden?

Fern was at loss of words, he felt a bit awkward at being praised for something he didn't do yet he could let you hanging and did whatever the real Finn would do. "Uh... Thanks, but honestly you're the brave one here, I’m just stupid most of the times" he chuckled nervously, taking the sword to admire it a little more before and placing it down to lean on the wall. You shifted nervously in your seat, hands sweating, heart pounding, it was obvious there was something else you've been meaning to say but couldn't find the bravery and confidence to say it. 'This is ridiculous!' you thought, you just risked your life earlier to retrieve something for someone you hold close didn't you? it was time to let your heart speak once and for all.

"Oh I’m not that brave..." you spoke up to get his attention, before continuing "If I was, I would've told you that I like you some time ago."

You felt your pulse picking up speed like mad, your stomach swirling with embarrassment that you couldn't help but laugh a little out of nervousness. Yet it was nice to let it out, and you couldn't stop now "Haha- it's kinda dumb really, since i keep bringing you stuff and all" you tried to not make a big deal out of this, trying, but failing to make this sounds like a casual statement. Especially since you were feeling embarrassed as hell.

Fern on the other hand was having a hard time processing what you just said since he was a little slow on what was going on, he was completely silent until he replayed the same words in his head. "You... like me?" he made sure he heard right, blinking for a few seconds before responding "T-that's not dumb at all" the boy reassured with a shy smile, unsure how to respond in all due honesty.

He didn't know what to make of the situation, sure Finn has had multiple chicks after him and knew how to manage things like this, but not Fern. He felt as if his stomach was making somersaults, it wasn't a bad feeling per see- but he also felt as if he wanted to crawl under some covers and hide. The grass boy tried to keep himself cool, he knew Finn didn't like you since he saw you as a sister so he would try his best to let you down easy.

His words were enough to ease your nervousness, making you feel a bit more relaxed since the adventurer didn't seem to be against your feelings towards him. "You think so-?" you looked back at him with hopeful eyes, scooting closer to him as your eyes flashed to his lips before looking back at his face.

The fake Finn could only nod, not moving from his spot in the slightest. In the back of his head he knew what you were aiming to do yet he didn’t stop it.

It was then that you decided to take the risk and act on impulse, slowly leaning forward towards the adventurer who continued to sit still, he was curious of what you were trying to do after all. He didn't budge in the slightest so you took it as a sign and proceed to quickly lung yourself at boy in front of you, placing your lips on his for a good five seconds before pulling apart a few centimeters to look at his reaction.

Fern lost track of what he originally wanted to do and say as he felt your soft lips against his own, his face heating up at the realization. It was a kiss, his first kiss. Fern was mesmerized by the sensation lingering on his lips after you pulled back, the grass boy couldn't remember what he was previously aiming to do but he knew he felt good, he knew he wanted to kiss you again. So when your breath was hitting at his face he took your lips into his once more, to which you gladly returned without a second thought. Even though you had like, zero experience in the act.

You were delighted that the person of your affections returned the same feelings. After a few minutes you were finally getting the hang of kissing, it didn't fail to turn this brief make out session into something more heated as time passed by, your lithe hands gripped the front of Finn's shirt as you scooted up to his lap. Your hormones were getting the best of you, finding yourself wanting more as the kiss deepened, Fern would occasionally nimble your bottom lip to which you responded with a small whine. The boy's ears perked up in excitement, he could only wonder what other noises he could pull out from you. He couldn't control himself, he felt as if he were acting in autopilot mode so he merely went with the flow. The grass boy griped your waist, running his hands up and down your sides as you sat on his lap, pulling away from your mouth to pep your jaw with kisses that lead to your neck.

You closed your eyes as low moan escaped past your lips, gripping his shoulders while he kissed your neck. "Finn..." his name unconsciously escaped your lips.

He wouldn't have mind hearing his name come from you, if only that wasn't his real name.

it was as if that name was a key word that snapped him back to reality.

You liked Finn.

He wasn't Finn.

The realization troubled the grass boy as he stopped the kisses on you neck, a rather stern expression covering his face as you worriedly looked back at him "Is something wrong Finn-?" you asked, placing a tender kiss on his cheek.

The fake Finn shakes his head to the side with a soft "No" he gently pushed you off him as he added. "How about we continue this another time? Jake will be back anytime now" he said with a soft smile, grabbing your hand and giving it a small kiss, trying to make sure you wouldn't get worried at his sudden change in behavior.

"You're right… that would suck" You believed him, especially with the romantic gesture that made your face flush. "Maybe we could go out some time?" you sheepishly suggested to which Finn merely smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Great-!" you stood up from the couch, stretching your back muscles before looking back at the adventurer "It's getting late anyway... I’ll see you later then" you looked back the young man, saying your goodbyes by placing a quick peck on his cheek before making your way down the exit latter.

* * *

 

Fern kept smiling even long before you were gone. The grass boy climbed to the Tree house's rooftop, laying down on the tree foliage and looking up at the sky with a sigh.  
His mind was bouncing back and forth like a tennis ball- did he really like you or was he just that desperate for experiencing those kinds of things?

The grass boy tried to not dwell to much on the thought, he already got himself in this mess and might as well the pleasant feeling it left in his gut. He was partially Finn so it wouldn’t hurt to pretend a little more right?

He just wants to get close to you, kiss you, make you happy…

And if it meant pretending to be someone he wasn't, then he'll go through the trouble.


	2. The Finn Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In an attempt to keep you away from the tree house and the real Finn, Fern plans to take you out for lunch. Sounds simple enough right? well it would be if he didn't plan on giving it a fun twist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To help you feel like part of the Adventure Time universe i made an illustration of reader-chan's outfit to help improve the visuals. I call it the scavenger look! However if you like to picture a different color/outfit that's completely fine with me, it's just the default image i have in mind while writing. Either way, have fun! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧  
> 

[The Scavenger's Outfit](https://www.deviantart.com/ask-the-witch/art/The-Scavenger-Look-765584273)

* * *

 

"Wait... so you want to meet up near the dumb rock instead of the treefort?" you repeated through the phone device in your hand, just to make sure you heard right.

"Yeah, trust me the place was invaded by uh... giant slugs last night, so it's a mess not worth seeing" Fern lied through the phone, thinking up of any kind of believable excuse to keep you away from the tree house. "And make sure you haven't eaten anything yet, cause we'll be having a nice full course meal!" the stated excitingly, the thought of taking you somewhere made him pretty happy, especially after hearing you chuckle through the phone.

"Sure thing, just pack some trail mix and water until lunch" you nodded as you fetched your own stuff.

"Oh, and bring your baseball bat" the boy added without spoiling too much.

"Why? are you planning to get in trouble-?" you teased but didn't question anything, you already carry your baseball bat everywhere anyway, it was an everyday essential to you like your slingshot or chapstick.

"Maybe... it's a surprise" Fern spoke in a singsong matter.

"Alright, alright" you replied with a smile on your face, excitement bottling up inside your stomach "I'll see you in half an hour then!" you both agreed before hanging up at the same time, you swiftly went to grab your favorite colored cape and prepared to head out. You could only wonder what the adventurer had in store for both of you today.

Fern has been planning this all night, nothing can go wrong! He knew he had to keep you far away from the tree house thus far from the real Finn until he thought of a solution for his temporary problem, so for now his best bet was to just hang out. For today he decided to start off with something easy, having lunch together.

Pretty simple right?

Well it was supposed to be a simple idea, however being the kind of lad he is Fern wanted to make things a bit more exciting. After all, he felt it was something the real Finn would do.

* * *

 

You were the first to make it to the meeting spot, while you waited for Finn to show up you just did random things like look at the clouds or practice your swings with your baseball bat. By the time the adventurer arrived you were taking a seat on the dumb rock, deciding it was best to save your energies for whatever Finn had planned.

Fern was close by with his Finn disguise along with a backpack he 'borrowed' from said boy, his footsteps were fast and eager to see you however the closer he got to you the slower he got and the shyer he became, by the time he reached you it seemed that the imaginary cat snatched his tongue away.

"Hey-" he greeted, shuffling his feet a little, unable to look at you yet after that one make out session yesterday.

"Hi-" you replied just as shy as he was. You were unsure as to what make of the thing between you two, so for the time being you decided to keep things simple.

"So, you ready to go?" Finn asked, raising his eyes to look at you in the eye eventually.

"Sure, i have been wondering where you wanted to go" you stood up from the dumb rock, stretching your limbs a bit until feeling something pop.

"Oh right-!" Fern perked up when he remembered his plans for the day, it didn't take long for his upbeat and joyful attitude from earlier to come back "Just follow me, it's not that far i promise" he smiled, aiming to grab your hand to guide you before stopping himself midway since he was insecure about how it would make you feel.

You noticed Finn's hand reached out to yours but you didn't say anything about it, instead you directed your eyesight on his back where he carried his weapon of choice.

"Nice sword" you commented, a knowing smile stretching on your face as you playfully bumped his shoulder.

Fern was caught off guard by your statement until he looked behind him to check out what you meant since he was in a hurry, the light reflecting on the silver metal sword was a dead giveaway on why you were smiling all of a sudden.

It was the same sword you gave him yesterday after all.

* * *

 

Just like Finn said, it didn’t take long for you two to reach your destination, it was a forest like area that wasn’t was far from becoming a jungle due to the amount of foliage and plant life.

“Shh- try to not make much noise or you’ll scare it away” the boy hushed you as you two crouched behind a bush, you were somewhat confused on what he was referring to until you carefully looked through the bush. It was then that you understood why you had to be so quiet, on the other side of the bush you saw a huge bird like creature that closely resembled a chicken, but not quite.  
“That’s our lunch-?” you whispered at Finn in a confused tone.

The expression on your face along with your tone made the boy worry for a second. “Yeah… I thought I’d be more fun to hunt our own food…” he looked down at his feet in shame, feeling that he messed up.

That was until you pipped up again.

“Ooohh, that’s a nice idea, I like it! Even though I don’t know much about cooking” your positive reaction made Fern feel better about his decision, he managed to look back at you with a sheepish smile.

“Neither do I- “he shrugged, but that didn’t stop him from smiling “Don’t worry, we’ll figure something out once we catch this fella” The adventurer said with a ting of hope in his voice, pulling out his sword the same time you pulled out your baseball bat.

“You’re right, we got this!” the look you gave him was a look that reflected your determination and hope, if you two tag together there was nothing you could accomplish.

However, things were easier said than done.

The current tactic you two had was one where you would chase after the creature and guide it to Finn so he could deliver the final blow, but it wasn’t giving any good results.  
It has been two hours and the two adventurers were currently panting and covered in sweat (or atleast you were), unfortunately despite the effort, not a single chicken creature has been caught yet.

“That’s… a very sneaky chicken-” you wiped the sweat off your forehead with your arm, trying to regain your breath since you didn’t have the same condition and endurance as Finn.

“You wanna take a break?” Fern asked you quite attentively, offering you a bottle of water from his backpack since he felt you needed it more.

“Nah- I’m good” you tried to reassure him, plus you were starting to get hungry so you wanted to catch the chicken as soon as possible. You took the offered water bottle and popped the cap open to take a few sips. “You got any other plans? I think just chasing after it won’t work” you commented in all due honestly.

“Well… that’s mostly how F- I catch monsters with Jake” the boy shrugged, but he guessed you had a point. If you two are planning on preparing lunch then a different approach was necessary.

“No no, It’s a good plan. I just think we could add something different, like an extra step” you closed the bottle cap and returned it back to Finn.

“I’m open to suggestions” the grass boy offered, letting you come up with something since his current ‘Finn plan’ wasn’t going well.

You pondered about it for a moment as you took in the details of your surroundings, things like moss, mushrooms, trees, Finn looking back at you, dead leaves, more trees and a spider in it’s cute little spider web. However, that last thing gave you an idea. “What if we capture it in a trap-?” you offered, which seemed to catch Fern’s attention.

* * *

 

It took a while to tie it together, but eventually you and Finn made a resistant net out of tree vines, twigs and tall grass. It was a nice net if you said so yourself, with both you and Finn feeling somewhat achieved at making something together, but it was too early to declare any victories. It was time for you two to test out your creation.

You were currently stationed at you designated spot behind a few bushes, making sure the net was safely secured under a pile of dead tree leaves, it was a pretty basic trap but it was all you guys had for now.

Your ears perked up at the sound of footsteps coming your way.

“It’s show time.” You mused to yourself.

You poked you head over the bushes to see Finn chasing after the large chicken, his face was red and had a somewhat strained expression but the boy kept going after the chicken at a high speed, however instead of running in a straight line and towards the net, the chicken made a sharp turn to the left to get away from the adventurer who couldn’t seem to hit the brakes on time due to his speed.

“Oh no you don’t!” you popped up from the bushes and jumped in front of the chicken’s path with flailing arms and frenetic screaming, managing to scare it enough to turn around and run back to the direction it came from. Successfully running directly to the trap, once the chicken took a step on the net it made a quick ‘snap’ noise and captured the pesky thing.

“Yes finally!” you pumped your fist in the air when you saw the critter dangling from a tree branch like a punching bag, no matter how much it squirmed it wouldn’t be escaping anytime soon.

“Holy cow- you saved my neck there, I thought he would get away” Finn went up to you so both of you could admire your captured prey.

You were feeling pumped and happy, and hungry too, but happy nevertheless. Fern was feeling the happy vibes as well, sure he would’ve preferred to catch the critter on his own to prove to you how good of an adventurer he was, but he soon realized that managing things as a team was way more satisfying. He doesn’t have to prove anything to you that way.

After an accomplishment, there was a certain thing he wanted to do. He remembers from Finn’s memories that it’s usually a thing he does with Jake but the moment felt right to try it with you.

“Hey-” Finn called out your name to catch your attention, when you turned to face the boy you notice he had his hand shaped into a fist. “Good job you did there” he smiled.  
You gladly returned the smile when you realized what he wanted to do, “Thanks, you too partner-“ you said as your fist connected with Finn’s in a short but satisfying fist bump.  
It was a silly gesture but amusing nevertheless.

Fern couldn’t understand why, but the whole ‘partner’ thing got to him and made him blush a little. Mostly because he could interpret it in many ways, were you two lovers? Partners in crime? Just a tag along buddy? Sure, he could be overthinking but he still has been meaning to ask about the nature between you two…

“Alright! Now let’s cook this bad boy, I’m starving” you chimed in, interrupting the grass boy from his thoughts.

“Oh- right!” He pulled out his sword, more than ready to get things over with.

However, there was a certain noise coming from above the tree lines, neither you or the adventurer could pin point what it was until it dawned onto you.  
“That sounds like a dr-“ before you could even finish your sentence, heavy gusts of wind knocked both you and Finn to the ground. A large dragon dropped from the skies and heard the cries of the chicken caught in the net, you could only look in horror at the larger creature open its mouth and swallowed not only yours but Finn’s efforts in one single bite.

Neither you nor the boy processed what happened until the dragon took off and was back in the skies. Anger was building up in Fern’s system, he didn’t know if it was due to the aggressive grass demon in him or the fact that the monster just left with your lunch, either way he stood up and couldn’t stop shouting at the dragon’s back.

“Come back here you bastard-!” he felt frustrated, gripping the sword in his hands and not peeling his eyes from the sky; until he heard the grumbling sound coming from your stomach. It was then that he calmed down to look back at you with sorrow. Fern was internally beating himself up, sure he was a grass boy and didn’t necessarily need to eat, but he could only imagine how devastated you were feeling after working so hard without eating anything for hours-

“You wanna go get some burgers?” You suggested nonchalantly, standing up and dusting your pants without a care in the world.

Finn, well, Fern could only stand still and look back at you in disbelief for a solid minute.

“Yeah… I’d like that” he replied with a tired smile, tucking his sword in his backpack.

* * *

 

“And then I told her, how can you tell it’s the right gem if you’re color blind-? “you chatted mindlessly as you held your half-eaten burger in hand and using the other to pour ketchup on your third order of french fries.

Fern didn’t mind, he enjoyed listening to you talk about random topics. It helped him avoid feeling bad about how badly the day went. He thought he could make things work if he just did things ‘the Finn way’, that he could make anything seem fun and exciting just like the real Finn does. But eventually that didn’t seem to be the case. However, he did learn something out of it, he worked better when you were involved sorta like how Jake helped Finn, hence how he enjoyed your company when you two were trying to catch that chicken.

The memory occasionally brought a bittersweet smile to his face.

Although you were doing most of the talking you couldn’t help but noticed how the adventurer was probably still kicking himself for not stopping that dragon. You took a moment to pause your story and place your hand on Finn’s own hand, he looked back at you with surprised expression but you simply gave him a calm look.

“Hey, it’s okay. We had fun and manage to eat something at the end of the day, right?” you reassured him with a small smile.

Although your words helped ease his head today, he was still having trouble with the whole Finn/Fern identity thing, but for now the grass boy allowed himself to truly feel that things were okay.

“Right, thanks anyway” he smiled bashfully, enjoying the warmth emitting from your hand and onto his own, occasionally squeezing your hand in a tender matter despite the few ketchup stains on your hand, either way none of you made a movement to pull away.

“So, what were you saying about a gem again?” he returned to the topic, quietly enjoying the rest of the afternoon with you.


	3. The Good Ol' Switch-a-roo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There can't be two Finn's in one room, Fern is going to realize that the hard way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Gonna switch the point of view quite often in this one, if it's too confusing let me know ;w;'

Even though he insisted to walk you home first, you wanted to walk Finn home instead for no other reason than see the landscape during a sunset, it was much more breathtaking in comparison to the closed cramped area you lived in.

The walk back home was calm. After all, an entire day of chasing a giant chicken was enough to tire anyone out, except for this adventurer. He was just as chirpy and energetic since the day started.

Given that you did a lot of rambling back at the diner it was Finn's turn to talk to his heart's content, it was a simple conversation composed of a the boy talking about a certain topic and you would give your opinion. The activity was fitting for the soothing sunset surrounding them, the sun's array of orange and pink colors was beginning to hide under the night's dark blue and purple hues, similar to a nocturne blanket covering onto the grasslands and all of Ooo. Almost like a mother preparing her child for a night of slumber.

That was the kind of night both you and fern were expecting to have, a restful night of sleep in a comfy bed. However, if there is one thing that was learned today is that things don't always go to plan.

As you two reached the tree house you could hear a faint noise in the distance, something with a beat to it.

"What's that?" you asked, to which the fake Finn shrugged but deep down he had a small idea of what it could be.

The two adventurers ran up to the top of the hill where the noise became louder and clearer until your ears recognized it as music, it didn't take long for you and Finn to reach the top of the hill and notice how the tree house was more upbeat and active than usual. With fluorescent neon lights shining past the windows, people having dance offs in the yard with glow in the dark stick in their hands and just general laughter and music.

You were surprised to see the tree house turn into some sort of huge rave, but Fern on the other hand knew that Jake had a natural talent at organizing house parties.

"Well then. This is as far as I'll go" you took a step back with small laugh, digging your hands into your pocket. "I'm not one for parties" you explained.

"You sure?" the adventurer looked towards the party at the bottom of the hill, where he could see someone being held upside down as a barrel of cream soda was poured into his mouth. "Right... it's cool, I can head home from here" Finn sighed before lifting a hand in a small wave. "Catch you on the flip side" the young man said his goodbyes as he made his way down the hill.

"See ya later" you waved back in a simple gesture. Turning on your heel you were ready to head back home as well but without any company this time, at least you'd be able to enjoy the large skies covered in stars.

Or that's what you thought.

"Hey wait up!"

Your boots made a dry halt as you turned around to see who called out your name, their voice was... almost feminine? and somewhat familiar. You turned around to notice a floating purple cloud made their way up to you along with other three figures.

"Girl where are you going? the party is on the other side!" lumpy space princess snapped at you in the company of three other females you identified as breakfast princess, hot dog princess and slime princess.

You were visibly confused as to why these princesses approached you in the first place, that was until you remembered an incident where you and Finn rescued them from ice king's fionna and cake fanfic readings about a month ago.

"Yeah! all the good guys will be taken if we don't hurry" breakfast princess added.

"Oh I'm not here for the party, I'm heading home actually" you stated simply however it wasn't enough for the ladies.

"But why? The party just started and everyone knows Jake's parties are legendary" slime princess added her own to two cents, for a second you could've sworn they were trying to convince you to go with them.

But that couldn't be it.

You knew who they were but given to your lower class and lack of popularity you found it strange they wanted to hang out with you.

"But I'm not looking for guys-" you didn't even manage to finish your sentence when breakfast princess placed a hand on your shoulder.

"Ah that's right, you were hanging out with the hero of Ooo weren't you?" she asked with a knowing smile, almost as if she didn't need your confirmation. "Almost like a date"

You squirmed in your spot "I uh, don't know what you mean" you acted dumb, plus you weren't one for having your private life in the spotlight.

"Oh (y/n) don't be shy around us, we saw you two holding hands and walking together just a minute ago didn't we gals" hot dog princess said without a care in a world emitting a nod from all four princesses, she was a sweet one but she didn't know how nervous her words made you.

You simply stood there with a group of princesses you barley knew, unsure how to approach these gals or what to tell them considering how interested they were into gossip.

"Come on gurl, you can tell us all about it at the party-!" Lsp said happily, the princesses walking around you interested in you all of a sudden.

The hero of Ooo was a popular one among the ladies after all.

* * *

Once he was out of your sight Fern made sure to avoid the group of people dancing in the lawn and sneaked into the back of the tree house, removing his Finn disguise and going back as Fern the human. He looked at his reflection on the surface of an abandoned car window that was there for some reason, he couldn't help but sigh at his usual green appearance before heading back to the front of the house.

Like expected there was a good amount of people in the main entrance to the tree house, but Jake must've invited more people than usual given that inside was twice as much of guests than out in the lawn.

It was even beginning to make him feel claustrophobic.

Fern decided the best option was to just ignore everyone and head straight for the rooftop.

"Hey Fern buddy, over here!"

The grass boy sighs, he had his hand on the ladder but he couldn't find it in himself to ignore... well, himself. The real Finn was calling out to him in the living room, a big smile was on his face as he had Jake and a few party bears around him but he did his best to make his way to Fern anyway.

"Where have you been bro? Jake and I needed help settling things up in the afternoon" the adventurer didn't sound upset but more like he was curious to know his whereabouts since the grass boy rarely left the house.

"Oh, you know... just looking around to see what evil I could kill, trying to become a hero like you" he thought at the top of his head, sure it had a pinch of truth in it but still a lie nevertheless.

The response brought an understanding smile to Finn's face "Alright if you say so, just remember that killing stuff isn't the only thing that makes you a hero kay?" he patted Fern's shoulder with his robot hand before redirecting his attention to the party at hand. "Anyway, how about you hang around for a little while? Meet some new people and such" the adventurer's suggestion made Fern feel a little uneasy in his grassy stomach but he was willing to try nevertheless. Finn was such a great bro at trying to get him to socialize more, so he might as well try to run along with it.

Finn took Fern with the group of party bears he was previously with who were currently chit chatting among themselves until the two guys walked in.

"Hey there party bears, this is my friend Fern" Finn happily introduced his grassy counterpart to the gang.

Fern was a bit unsure about Finn's idea but spoke up with a small "Nice to meet you guys" feeling nervous under the bear's quiet stare.

"Ohh you're that grass Finn guy!" one of the bears spoke up, bringing a nod from the others.

"Whoa you look identical to him, but greener"

"I heard he's an evil one" one of the bears commented before taking a sip from his drink.

"That's true! aren't you the dude who sent Susan strong to the hospital?" another one asked, of course the question didn't make the grass feel any better. Not only was he just know as the grass Finn but it seems like it didn't take long for rumors to spread about him.

"Nah man, he's the dude who destroyed an old man's maze"

"I heard he steals motorbikes"

While the party bears continued to talk among themselves, Fern felt he had enough and left without excusing himself from the conversation. He was acting pretty harsh but it only worried Finn more.

"Come'on dude, they were just misinformed. I'm sure once the good stuff about you gets out, they'll view you differently" Finn followed Fern as he tried to reassure him, he knew he was going through a rough time so he wanted to help in any way possible.

But Fern knew better, people weren't going to accept him for who he is. Especially if he had people comparing him to Finn every single time.

"There's still a few people you could meet" the adventurer searched around the crowd to look for a familiar face.

The whole situation was just making Fern angrier and more upset, he was ready to drop out no matter how harsh he may seem. He just wanted to be left alone. "How about you just fu-"

"Oh, look there's a friend" Finn grinned happily as he didn't hear what Fern was about to say, instead he waved in direction to a certain group of princesses at the corner of the room "Hey (y/n) over here!"

When the name fell onto his ears it was enough to make Fern freeze on the spot, he felt his heart stop, whatever blood he had in his veins now felt cold as he took sight of you surrounded by the group of princesses.

You weren't supposed to be here. Why where you here!?

These questions were growing louder the closer Finn guided Fern to the group. Dear glob how is he going to handle this?

"Hey Finn! uh Jake is calling you from the kitchen..." Fern lied, mostly to distract him until he thought of a better plan "Something about the fridge breaking in half"

Finn pouted as he paused on his pace towards you with a sigh. "Oh man it's the third time this week" the young man separated himself from the grass and went off in the direction the kitchen would be at.

Fern took the opportunity to sneak past the crowd and into the bathroom, shifting into his Finn costume once more.

* * *

You were currently sitting at the couch with Lsp, Breakfast princess, Hot dog princess and Slime princess while they talked about the latest gossip in Ooo, making you feel out of place.

You didn't know how these princesses managed to drag you into this loud party against your will... well not exactly against your will, you just didn't want to look rude. Especially since they praised you for being so brave at saving them so many times, how skilled you were with your slingshot and baseball bat... curse them. They were pretty charming when they want to you'll give them credit for that.

So, you just sat there trying to understand the conversation until one of them nudged your shoulder.

"Look who's calling you" breakfast princess whispered in your way, catching a whiff of cooked eggs and bacon before directing your gaze to the direction she was pointing at.

You were both happy and relieved to see Finn emerge from the group of people, it was refreshing to see a familiar face among the crowd. You would be lying if you said you didn't also feel your heart skip a beat as well, which lead you to greet him with a hug.

"Heey, nice to see you here. But I thought you weren't one for parties?" the fake Finn smiled quite nervously but you didn't notice that.

"Yeah, about that... I was sorta dragged in here against my will" You said jokingly while your finger was pointing towards the group of princesses, however they were mostly just giggling among themselves and waving back almost innocently.

The fake Finn merely chuckled in sympathetic at you, however his smile began to falter when he caught sight of the real Finn making his way back into the living room area. The young man didn't skip a beat before he quickly urged you away into the next room by roughly grabbing your hand whilst trying to be gentle but quick as possible even though his nerves were making it difficult.

"Whoa- where's the fire?" you joked at the adventurer, however much to your surprise a cat sized flame approached you two like some sort of cheesy joke. (wink wonk)

"Someone called?" Flambo says causally, taking a sip of his beverage.

"Flambo! I uh, I believe you haven't met (y/n) yet" the fake Finn placed you in front of the cat shaped flame "I think this is a good moment for you two to talk. In the meantime, I... gotta go use the boy style room!" just as quick as he came he left, leaving you in company of this fire feline.

Fern took off towards the bathroom to remove his Finn disguise in private but all he met was a locked door and someone shouting "Busy!" which frustrated the grass even further. Not only that but the real Finn was just a few meters away. In a desperate attempt to go unrecognized Fern dropped down and crawled his way behind the couch, returning to his green skin without being noticed.

Finn was about to turn around until Fern popped up in front of him, blocking his view of (Y/N).

"Hey buddy-" Finn piped up at the sight of Fern "So good news, the fridge isn't broken, someone just thought it would be funny to fill it with canned bread that's all"

"That's great Finn, but uh..." the grass wracked his brain a little "You won't believe it! Cinnamon bun was talking shit about you, blabbering about how you can't break his record of drinking two barrels of root beer soda"

"Really-?" 

 

"Yeah! You should go challenge him to a contest before it gets out of hand... but in the front yard!" Fern persuaded as he pushed Finn in the opposite direction to where (y/n) was.

Lucky for the young grass boy it was dumb enough excuse to work.

* * *

And that's basically how the rest of Fern's night went.

Going back and forth trying to keep Finn away from his crush and thus securing him lie long enough until he found a way out of the hole, he dug himself, but boy was it an exhausting task! Not only was he running out of excuses but he was also running out of hiding places to switch from his Fern skin to his Finn disguise to the point he was too tired to become aware of his surroundings.

Eventually the grass decided he needed to bring the party to a halt.

Fern, while still in his Finn disguise, went to a secluded area of the tree house as he dialed the number on the phone.

"Come'on..." the young man was impatient, tapping his foot as the other line rang until someone picked up.

"This is banana guard number 983 how may I help you... ? shhh, I said I would handle the night shift calls tonight" the banana guard sounded like he was arguing with someone offline but Fern had no time for that.

"Hello I'd like to anonymously report a loud disturbance at the Finn and Jake tree house in the grasslands" Fern lied, trying to huddle himself towards the wall to make sure no one caught him.

"Hmm, yeah I don't think that's- ohh can you pass me a slice of pizza?" the banana guard rambled one since he didn't seem to take the call seriously which only frustrated the grass.

"Sir, please they're making a lot of noise"

"Oh, sorry man it's probably just a small get together nothing to get mad about" the banana guard reassured from the other line as he was more focused on his pizza slice.

"Uh... but I can... hear screams- yeah! They're probably summoning an ancient demon god from the nightosphere"

"Probably just having fun"

"There could be injured people-!"

"Hey dude, relax. Maybe if you just go over there and have some fun yourself, you'll see they aren't so bad"

"Wait- They're pouring pineapple on pizza!"

Fern could hear a pair of hands slamming against the table as a voice boomed in the receiving end.

"THOSE MONSTERS-! We'll be there right away sir!" the banana guard hung up much to Fern's joy.

Did he feel guilty for ruining everyone's fun? not really.

All that mattered now was that he had to keep up this lie a little longer until the party ends... but truth was for how long?

Either way Fern sighed in relief as he shed his Finn disguise. "Atleast that'll buy me some time for now" the young man said out loud.

However what Fern didn't expect was the shocked starchy standing next to him, the candy person dropped his drink to the ground with a mouth agape as he caught Fern red handed.

"YOU-!" starchy pointed a threatening finger towards the grass boy, no doubt going to call him out, until Fern singlehandedly knocked out the poor guy out of instinct before he could say another word. The young man cautiously looked both ways before dropping the unconscious starchy inside a wooden plank within the treehouse's walls.

Okay, maybe he did feel guilty about that but what else could he do? After stealing his motor bike there's no doubt starchy would rat him out.

Just small details he can solve later.

* * *

"Fern there you are!" Finn called out from within the crowd, startling Fern as he tried to go unnoticed. "Where were you man? It's almost like you've been avoiding me all night!"

"What? Pfft No way" Fern tried to shrug off.

"Anyway, there's someone I want you to meet"

"Finn... I think I've met enough people for today-" however Fern's speech stopped the moment he laid eyes on you, anxiety and panic starting to build up.

* * *

You were having a reasonable conversation with Marceline the vampire queen if emotion eaters can eat hot dogs or not until you turned around when you felt a tap on your shoulder.

"Finn!" you spoke out gleefully.

"Hey (y/n), nice to see you too. It's been a while huh? Anyway, there's someone I haven't introduced you to" Finn smile rather sheepishly.

"A while?" you chuckled since you thought it was some kind of joke "Don't tell me you have a terrible memory"

"What do you mean?" the adventurer tilted his head to the side with a smile, just as amused and lost as you are.

"HimynameisFernthehuman!" Out of impulse Fern jumped in front of you as fast as he spoke, leaving behind an incomprehensible sentence on your ears.

"Pardon me?" your attention went to the green young man in front of you.

"Oh right, (y/n) this is my bro Fern who's been living on top of the tree house for a month, we're sorta like brothers but not actually because he's made of grass and..." Finn scratched the back of his neck as he tried to explain, no doubt resulting odder than he thought.

In the meantime, you took a moment to appreciate the similarities and differences between Fern and Finn. Besides the obvious fact one is made of flesh and the other is made out of grass, they were practically identical if it weren't for little details, like how Fern had the fairest hints of dark circles under his eyes, how Finn seemed to have a few blemishes on his face while Fern had a clean face- must be the pros of being made of grass. You also noticed Fern looked worried about something while Finn was cheery without a trouble in the world.

Fern was growing nervous and flustered under your gaze the more you studied them, while Finn waited patiently for your response.

"Hi Fern nice to meet you, I'm (y/n)" you greeted the boy with a friendly smile and an extended hand.

Fern tried to smile the best he could "I uh, know. We share the same memories him and i..." he pointed a thumb to Finn and himself for emphasis.

"Oh?" you tilted your head with a peak of interest "That's pretty cool in a way, so you're like clones?"

"Sort of-?" the grass was unsure himself, Finn giving him a shrug.

"(y/n) dear!"

You mentally groaned at breakfast princess's feminine voice, followed by a larger group of princesses behind her.

"We were just talking about you, weren't we girls?" one of the princesses spoke leading to a few giggles here and there. "We don't see you around often"

"Actually, we wanted to ask you and Finn how long have you two known each other?"

Although the question seemed innocent enough to have come out of no where for you, to Fern it was nerve wrecking since he's been trying to avoid this kind of conversation all night, he didn't know how to intervene without looking too suspicious.

However, it seemed Fern's silent prayers were answered when there was a loud ruckus coming from the front door.

"Doki doki, open up it's the fricken police!"

Apparently, the front door was flooded with banana guards flashing their blue and red lights everywhere.

"What seems to be the problem officer?" Jake answered the door, just as confused as everyone in the room.

"We got a call about disturbance and worst offence of all..." The guard paused, holding a hand to his mouth as the mere idea caused him physical pain. "...pineapple pizza"

Jake raised an eye brow "But we don't have any neighbors or pizza-"

That was until Flambo walked in the room from the kitchen with a knife and a pineapple "Can anyone help me cut this? I don't have any thumbs" the poor flame asked in oblivion to the situation.

"HE'S GOT A KNIFE-!" a banana guard shouted in the little flame's direction

"AND A PINEAPPLE!"

Apparently, that was enough for the banana guards to end the party, sending everyone home and arresting a few along the way for possession of fairy dust, magic shrooms and 66 illegal copies of Heat Signature.

However, it was remembered as one of Jake's most memorable house parties.

* * *

After double checking everyone left Fern spread his arms and legs as he laid on the tree house's soft leafy roof, the entire fiasco was enough to tire him out.

He was glad it was all over though.

Even though he didn't think much of the topic, after tonight he was beginning to doubt for how longer he will be able to keep up the act since as long as the real Finn is around, he'll just risk his chance of being happy with (y/n). Fern raised his right hand into the night sky as he changed its color to match Finn's skin tone. It would much easier if he were Finn and not Fern the grass boy.

The young man's eyes begin to glow a sinister, almost demon liker bright yellow as he considered his options.

**If only there was just one true Finn.**

That was, until his ears perked up at the sound of soft steps heading towards his way, the grass was too tired to turn around so he assumed Finn went to bid him good night or ask about his unusual behavior, but truth be told he was surprised to see you standing next to him instead.

"Mind if I sit here with you?" you asked politely, to which the young boy merely nodded.

He was too exhausted to feel any form of embarrassment or nervousness so he just glued his view to the large star filled sky.

"Where's Finn?" he asked

To which you cracked a grin "He's downstairs helping Jake clean up the mess"

There was a moment where you raised your eyes towards the sky as well, enjoying the quiet presence the grass boy had to offer as a calm breeze picked up a few strands of hair and tree leaves.

"What brings you up here anyway?" the young man couldn't help but ask

"Oh I'm waiting for my ride, you?"

Fern blushed a little thankful there wasn't much light around "I... uh... pretty much sleep here" he put it simply.

"Doesn't it get lonely?"

Yes.

"Sometimes" he didn't admit fully since he tried to act tough "Gives me time to think about... stuff"

You pouted at his answer "Well, try to not overthink things too much. Might keep you from doing things"

"Like what-?" the young man turned towards your direction, curious at your answer.

"Hmm things like, I don't know, going out, trying out new things with friends" you suggested at the top of your head.

To which Fern look turned away with a frown, closing his eyes as he spoke out in a monotone voice "I don't have anything to worry about then, not many people wanna befriend me anyways" the thought hurt but it was the truth or so fern thought, especially after his encounter with others today.

"I could be your friend"

Fern's eyes shot open when he looked back at you in disbelief, quickly sitting up as he felt his heart race.

"Wha- why?" the grass could only ask.

"So I can take you somewhere instead of overthinking stuff up here all day silly" you smiled which left the young man still perplexed as to why you would hang out with him "You seem like a chill guy, plus if you're like, Finn's grass clone, brother of sorts then I guess we should get to know each other a little more right?" you explained more fully.

However, your explanation just left the grass all the more speechless. Of course, Fern didn't like being compared again but if it meant you were willing to give him a chance then he wouldn't mind in the slightest.

"I'd... like that" he spoke up after what seemed like an eternity, bringing a smile to your face.

"Great"

You noticed a giant bird with a taxi driver hat made his way towards the tree house's rooftop with a squawk, informing the both of you of its presence.

"Oh, that's my ride. Anyway, I'll call you later when I get some free time in my hands okay?" you stood up from your spot, brushing the dry leafs off your legs receiving a joyful "Sure!" from the grassy young man.

"Talk to you later Fern" you bid farewell as you hopped on the giant bird, watching Fern wave goodbye as he tried to hide the blush on his facial features when he heard you remembered his name.

After being sure he was certainly alone this time, Fern fell back on the tree rooftop, feeling it much softer than before.

If you were going to dedicate your time to hang out with him then he wouldn't mind being Fern a little longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: OoF that was quite a handful, anyway i hope it was enough to make up for the time i haven't updated.


	4. The Fern Way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof i wanted to drop this chapter as soon as posible to start getting into the good stuff, so i didn't proofread this yet- apologizes in advance for any errors n.n'

After everything that happened yesterday, Fern spent the entire morning in the living room instead of mopping on the rooftop. He would entertain himself with various activities like reading comics or playing Beemo as he waited for your call.

"You look like you're expecting something" Beemo eyed fern suspiciously as he analyzed him, most likely pretending to be a detective of sorts, you can't blame the little gaming console though, after the scare Fern gave him when he trashed the living room, Beemo has been keeping a close eye on the grassy fella.

"What-? Can't a guy spend his time indoors after sleeping outside for so long?" Fern said as he reached the final level to finish off the video game boss, however he tossed everything aside when he heard the phone ring.

"I'll get it!" Fern shouted almost immediately, hopping on his feet and answering the phone before it could ring a second time.

"Hello-?"

"Hello there young boy or girl, are you interested in buying king of Ooo merch~?"

Fern slumped on his shoulder as he groaned in obvious displeasure.

"For the last time NO!... and stop calling this number" the young man hanged up as he dragged his feet back to beemo, noticing how he didn't pause his game and was greeted with the Game Over screen.

So much for trying to beat Finn's record.

"You're clearly expecting a call, aren't you?" beemo asked once again, no doubt his amazing detective skills piecing everything together.

"Maybe" the young man said with a huff, he looked at the clock only to notice it was already 3 in the afternoon, might as well make himself some lunch. But while the grass was preparing himself to go out on the rooftop the phone ringed as it's noise echoed through the living room. While Fern scrambled to his feet to try and answer it was beemo who beat him to it this time.

"Hello?" Beemo pressed the phone against his screen, in the meanwhile he turned to look at Fern with a smug look "Oh hi (y/n), Yes Fern is right here- in fact his been waiting all day for your call!"

"Beemo!"

The gaming console passed the phone to Fern with a giggle as he ran off.

"Hey" Fern spoke sheepishly into the phone.

"Hi Fern-!" the young man felt he would melt at just hearing his name from your voice "I finished a few errands so I'm free for the rest of the day, do you wanna go somewhere or-?"

"Sure!... I mean, yeah I'd like that" Fern tried to lower down the excitement in his voice.

After agreeing on a time and place to meet up Fern ended the call only to have a smug beemo give him a look.

"Got plans for today~?" the little console teased.

"Shut up" Fern blush a little before getting ready to head out.

* * *

Fern made his way to a nearby market, making him wonder what you had in store. However, he was greeted to the sight of you with a few shopping bags in hand.

"Sorry for bringing you all the way here, apparently I was missing some stuff from my shopping list earlier" you apologized." But I'll make it up to you! once I get the ingredients I need"

Fern smiled sympathetically "Hey don't sweat about it you were busy I get it, I'm sure we'll finish things twice as fast" he stepped forward and took the bags from your hands "Here let me help you with those"

"Thanks, my hands were getting numb" you smiled back before pulling out your shopping list, guiding the way through the rest of the market.

Fern enjoyed being in your presence even if you two were just doing domestic things like shopping, you would pick out fruits and vegetables and teach him small things, like how to tell a good avocado from a bad one, the freshness of a lettuce by looking at the dark colored roots at the bottom among other things. The grass didn't mind being a pack mule if it meant small moments like these.

"Alright that should be everything for today, thanks for your help fern"

"Told ya we'd finish" The grass merely nodded trying to look cool and hold back a huge smile

"Yeah we sure did. Any way we still have time for an activity maybe we can go beat up bad guys if you like?"

"I'd... like that" 'goodbye peaceful moments' he thought, not that he minded beating up bad guys though.

"Great, let me go buy a sword at that weapon stand and we're good to go" you pointed towards a rather sketchy looking stand, but then again, it's the only shop in the market so they can't be that bad.

* * *

Later on, you and Fern went to invade a bandit campsite, teaching those bandits a lesson after they've been stealing from salesmen near the marketplace. Although thanks to the join forces between you and the grass boy Fern, the bandits were quickly dispatched of, it would've been a victory for you two if it weren't for one thing.

"ugh... these weapons are complete utter shit!" you yelled angrily as you tossed the hem of your now broken sword to a bandit running your way, giving him a black eye.

"No wonder that stand looked pretty sketchy-" Fern knock out the last two bandits by smacking them together out cold with his thorny arms. "What do we do now?"

"Well there's nothing to do about it" you crossed your arms with a huff "It was my fault for going there, and now that old hack has my money"

Fern was beginning to feel angry himself, making his way towards you "Hey now don't say that, he's the terrible person here not you. Let's go get a refund" he placed a hand on your shoulder trying to convince you to fight back.

"You think it would work?"

"If it doesn't, I'll punch him til he does!" Fern hand formed a fist for emphasis.

This made you laugh a little, placing your hand to lower down his angry fist "I don't think it'll go that far, let's try to talk it out with the old hack first"

Fern grumbled something under his breath before complying "Alright let's go!"

* * *

The sketchy salesman was sitting at his weapon booth until he was approached by two adventurers.

"Howdy!" he greeted happily until Fern smacked a hand to the booth's able.

"Cut out the slack old man, and give my friend her money back!" Fern came off strong as bad cop to intimidate the man, but the grass was quickly interrupted by you who seemed to fill in the role of the good cop.

"My apologies good sir, you see I bought a weapon from your shop but it seemed it was in bad shape since it broke in half in mid-battle so I come to thee and ask for a refund" you explained in your most positive voice possible, to which Fern didn't agree on but he back you up nevertheless.

"Yeah!"

"Ouch sorry to hear your misfortune fellow adventurers-" the man had an apologetic voice which raised your hopes at having your money back, but Fern knew better, he could smell the falseness coming from the guy "I'm afraid I have a strict no refunds policy"

"What? Where!?" you raised your voice.

To answer your question, the salesman proceeded to pull out a sign from under the booth's table that read in big bright red letters "no refunds"

This of course infuriated you and brought a frown on your face, but if you were this angry Fern was furious, hellbent on threatening the guy on the spot

"Listen here you little piece of shi-"

"Excuse me for a moment sir-!" you carefully tugged Fern away from the salesman before he could bring hell onto him and the entire market.

"What the flip (y/n)? I was about to smash that guy into pieces until he gave you your money back!" the idea sounded noble in his head, but it was much more violent when he worded it out loud.

You placed you hands on the young grass's shoulders to try and ease him.

"Hey, hey easy there buddy, as much as I want you to teach that guy a lesson it's not a good idea if it'll just send you to the slammer" to prove your point you nodded towards a nearby knight who was doing his duty of guarding and keeping peace in the market.

"Now, I like your enthusiasm-! But I feel we can use it in a less violent matter and in a more creative way, something more passive aggressive if you catch my drift" you rubbed your hands up and down Fern's forearms as a way to calm down his shakiness and unknowing thirst for violence.

Fern seemed to open his mind for your reasoning, not to mention the brief physical contact eased his nerves so he was willing to cooperate. "And how can i do that?" he genuinely inquired.

That was when you released him from your grasp and took a more thinking position, letting the inner gears of your brain work for a second.

It didn't take long for the two adventurers to go back to the sketchy salesman, but instead of sneering anger in their faces they received the man with suspiciously friendly smiles.

"Good day sir" you greeted once more "Thank you for teaching us a valuable lesson about sales and economy, in exchanged we'd like to give you a gift!"

Fern threw a good amount of seed around the entire salesman's booth, irking an eyebrow from him.

"We'll plant these lovely sweet-scented flowers around your booth so it can attract more customers, you'll see them flourish alongside your business in no time!" Fern added as he planted the last few seeds he produced from the palm of his hands.

Fern gave you a mischievous smirk and a thumbs up when he was done, getting a nod from yourself.

"Welp that's all for today, see you later good sir!" you waved with a fake smile, the grass boy following up behind you with a small "See ya" towards the salesman. In reality the two of you snuck behind another tent with small giggles like a pair of kids doing a prank "Now, all that's left is to wait"

* * *

True to your word, the seeds didn't take long to grow into lovely flowers with a rather strong sweet smell. The salesman didn't mind, in fact he was thrilled to have the new plants around, believing they will make his booth look better and attract more clients.

However with the surge of the flowers attracted more than just clients, soon enough the sweet scented flowers started to attract bugs, not only butterflies and ladybugs but also bees and wasps, scaring away any potential costumers the salesman could've made.

The said salesman was currently swapping away at the bugs with a rolled newspaper.

It was the perfect moment for you and fern to walk towards the weapon booth with the smuggest smile ever seen.

"What's wrong mr. salesman? looks like you're in a pickle"

The salesman gave you and fern a glare "You two!" he slammed his hands on his table.

"You didn't like our gift?" Fern placed a hand on his chest, pretending to be hurt.

"Gift?! You're so called 'gift' is scaring away my costumers!" he yelled, to which you simply just placed you hands behind your back.

"Hmm I don't think I like your tone. Come on Fern, let's go home where you can keep telling me about how your flowers are strong enough to survive anything" you turned on your heel, ready to leave until the salesman called out to you two with a defeated tone.

"Wait..." he sighed "What do you want in exchange to remove the flowers?"

You and Fern looked at each other before smiling at the same time.

* * *

"Wow, I can't believe it worked!"

"What? You didn't have faith in my plan-?" you raised an eyebrow rather playfully, counting the cash from the weapon refund in your hand.

"It's not that I didn't trust you, it's more like I didn't trust myself" Fern admitted, earning a sympatric look from you.

"How so?" you pocketed the cash, turning your attention towards the grass boy.

"Well..." he was a bit conscious but considering her already said too much, there was no backing out "I thought I was just good at punching and slicing things with a sword, so I never knew I was capable of doing something else" he tighten his grip on your grocery bags, until he felt your hand on his shoulder

"Fern, if today was proof of anything it's that you're more than capable of something else than violence, with your abilities you can do a whole bunch of cool stuff! Either by creative ideas of yours or someone else, hell, in fact I think we work pretty well together." you smiled.

The look on the young man changed, any trace of doubt turned into surprise and then flustered happiness, causing him to look away like a tsundere schoolgirl.

"To be honest I'm just good with a sword and blunt fists, but you're right about one thing, if you are there with me I think we can kick anyone's ass" he said rather cheeky, trying to avoid getting sappy, however it still didn't stop your words from tugging his heart strings.

"Well then, we should team up someday" you suggested

"I wouldn't mind tagging along with you in more adventures, but we'll need more ideas cause I don't think planting flowers is a good against monsters"

You responded by playfully bumping your shoulder against his.

 The sky was beginning to turn into a pinkish orange as Fern walked you home, the day that was originally planned to do some adventuring was instead spent at the market, it wasn't what you had in mind but you two agreed the day wasn't a waste.

"Sorry again, for the trouble" you apologized sheepishly, for the 3rd time, sticking your key into the door lock and helping fern place the grocery bags on the table.

"You're starting to sound like a disc stuck on repeat" the grass joked "It's okay, atleast we have your money back" Fern reassured you.

A sweet smell filled his nostrils, unlike the flowers he planted earlier, this sweet smell was sugar and... plant like?

"Did you left cooking something?" he asked.

The question brought a surprised expression to you face until it settled to a calm smile. "In fact, I do!" You dwelled into the kitchen for a second until you pulled a tray with something on it.

"was supposed to be a surprise for when we came back from adventuring, but I was short on ingredients" you rushed to the table and pulled out said ingredient from the grocery bag, making your way back into the kitchen to fumble around as you continued to explain "I notice you were pretty down. It I wanted to bake something for you, but Finn told me there are a few foods you can't eat so I decided to experiment my baking skills" after adding the last touch, you brought the tray towards a curious Fern with a smile.

"W-what's that?" the young man tilted his head to side, bringing a chuckle from you.

On the tray there were two rows of integral green colored cupcakes, but the most eye-catching detail of the cupcakes was that they were shaped like Fern.

"They're Fern cakes!" you exclaimed proudly. "I made them specially for you, they're made of integral, cinnamon and some of that dirt that's nutritional for house plants. Try one" you insisted. 

For a moment Fern thought his heart was going to burst out of his chest, he even thought his eyes were going to tear up from the sweet gesture. The grass couldn't help but feel the parallels from when Finn shared his Finn cakes with him, despite Finn's good intentions as accepting him as a Finn, they were still Finn cakes, a pair of shoes that didn't fit him no matter how much he struggled. Unlike these, they were his own cupcakes, made to his exact image and digestive needs. Although they were just simple cupcakes, Fern took it as a sign to separate himself from Finn, he can still make different path for himself.

Fern's surprised eyes met your as he took the cupcake and gave it a bite, shocked that he was able to chew on it so easily without any struggle like when he tried to eat meat loaf.

"Soo? What do you think?"

Fern swallowed the remains of his cupcake before a strong taste of cinnamon lingered in his tongue. 

"They're delicious" He responded by giving you an honest heartwarming smile.

Although it made him warm on the inside, it also just made the next action he had to do much more harder if he honestly wanted to be with you.

He needed Finn to break up with you.

He would have to break your heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand that wraps up another chapter! not as hype as the previous one in my opinion but hey, i still got 6 more to go, so don't think you'll be get rid of me anytime soon. You might be wondering "what will happen?" but what kind of writer would i be if i spilled all the details? All i can say is strap on your seat belts cause this is where things will begin to get bumpy ;)


	5. Everything Breaks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fern wanted to break up with you so he can end with this whole Finn impostor thing, but he received more than he bargained for.

His thoughts were spiraling inside his head like a tornado, one chasing after another, lifting him up from his feet unable to let him settle on firm land and come to a reasonable conclusion. His knees were weak, palms were sweaty, like mom's spaghetti, but he was already set on the decision he made hours ago it was just a matter of time til he'd have (or Finn more specifically) broke up with you eventually.

Sure Fern didn't like the idea at first, but it was necessary.

"Finn are you alright-?"

Your voice snapped the grass boy out of his deep rooted thoughts, his eyes falling on the picnic basket in his hand and the worried look on your face, it took him a second to remember where he was and what he was doing.

"Oh yeah just wondering if we brought enough food, i'm starving" Fern replied to you in a nonchalantly manner as to ease your worry, he was in his Finn disguise once more but he hoped this would be the last time he'd use it in your presence.

You smiled innocently which only stirred his stomach even more.

"Hey it's alright, we brought enough sandwiches to live off in the wild for days" was your way of reassuring him although you could tell there was something else bothering him. Before you could bring up the topic again your eyes landed on the lovely flower beds you two pass by. 

"This place is very pretty, don't you think?" You tried to change the conversation for the sake of making the walk uphill more smooth "Honey Bee hill looks it's best at this time of the year, flowers blooming bees minding their own business by pollinating-" this is why you wanted to come to this place specifically honey bee hill was 

Fern blushed a bit a the memory he shared with Finn of Breezy 'pollinating' his flower arm.

He coughed into his fist to clear his throat before adding "So this is why you wanted to come and picnic here?" he asked you, tightening his grip on the picnic basket.

"Yeup, plus i felt it would be nice to spend some time together other than fighting with others... or being asked weird questions at parties that you avoid" you 

The boy raised an eyebrow when you brought up a party, noticing how you your body shifted away from him and your eyes looked in his oposite direction, where you referring to the one at the tree house a while ago?

"What do you mean?" 

At first you were hesitant, like you didn't want to talk about it but eventually it was something you had to bring up, your footsteps becoming slower as Fern in his Finn disguise tried to keep up at your pace.

"Well, i feel i'm probably overreacting to things but... last week at Jake's party i couldn't help but feel like you were keeping your distance from me, as if that kiss and all the time we spent together didn't happen at all. It's like you were another person" Your face became a little upset at the thought but you continued nevertheless, halting your footsteps altogether as you faced the boy in front of you.

"I know it's only been a few weeks since we've been dating but it feels like we are just doing it secretly. Like, i'm not asking for you to shout to all of Ooo that we're dating but it just, hurts you know? the way you acted at the party, like i was just another one of your dude bros. Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?" 

Fern had a great respect for you as an adventurer and a person, you were unmovable and firm like a mountain, nothing ever got to you ranging from people's opinion of you or the most threatening of monsters. So the insecurity the felt from you right now was new to him, he felt empathetic towards you since he was a confident swordsman but not as a person in general, he wanted to comfort you, reassure you that he was happy and honored to have you by his side both romantically and as an adventuring comrade- however, he also saw this as his chance.

As Finn, Fern can't be able to express his true feelings. For now, he'll have to do the opposite.

"Oh yeah sorry about that y/n. But being the hero of Ooo is rather hard, expectations have to be met and all, i couldn't just say 'oh sorry ladies i'm taken' in front of all those princesses in the room. I save them daily and they give me kisses and presents all day, do you any idea how many hearts i would break if the news breaks out?" Fern puffed out his chest, trying to make the human boy look like a jerk on purpose. 

Of course your reaction was anything but pleasant. The initial shock on your face was soon replaced with anger and hurt. "Are you serious? why are you even dating me?!"

"I dunno, I just wanted to get kisses and such while i wasn't saving princesses" The fake Finn had to look away just to make sure you wouldn't catch on his bluff, but when he looked back at you he felt a knot on his throat yet it didn't make him to loose his stance.

You were fuming and upset at feeling used, the color on your face was becoming reddish as you tried to focus your feelings on anger other than breaking down in tears. "Then i think it would be best if we break up-" you shut your eyes as you tried to keep yourself together "So you don't loose any of your precious princesses" you added with a snarky tone as you turned away from Finn.

Fern didn't feel good with himself in the slightest, but he managed to accomplish his goal and that had to be something. Soon he'll be able to shed his Finn skin forever and comfort you as his true self.

However before you could take another step away from Finn there was a buzzing noise heard from afar and it just kept getting closer.

"What's that-?"

"I think-" You tried to decipher the sound as it sounded familiar, once your memory clicked in you turned back towards Finn with a panicked voice "What day is it today? the beginning of summer right-?!"

Fern was rather confused at you meant and he assumed you were pulling his leg but he remembered checking the calendar today. "Yeah... why?"

You didn't answer him right away but instead you pointed for something behind him "Watch out!" 

The adventurer turned around to figure out what got you freaked out only to see a giant hornet with it's stinger aimed directly at him , his reflexes allowed him to block out the attack just in time so the stinger stabbed the picnic basket instead.

Another hornet was heading your way leaving you to pull out your baseball bat to block another stinger as well, causing you to press your back to Finn as you two tried to fed off the insects. "Hornets invade honey bee hills for mating season at the end of spring, scaring off the bees, and let me tell ya- the get really aggressive when they don't find mates" you explained the best you could as you tried to hold back the hornet in front of you, eventually kicking the insect away while Finn pushed it off along with the picnic basket.

"Let's get out of here!" You shouted once there was an open window to leave the hill.

While you prepared to run downhill, the fake Finn stayed in his spot "Heck no, we can easily take these guys down" Fern replied rather cocky as he pulled out the sword you gave him.

You paused on your footing to look back at him with disbelief "Are you nuts-!? If we fight back it'll just get worst!" 

Of course Finn didn't listen and once he took a swing at the hornet it didn't take long for more hornets to appear. You blocked out another hornet with your baseball bat trying to land a sting at you "Glob dammit Finn, drop the whole macho adventurer shit and get to the bottom of the hill already!" you shouted angrily, grabbing a hold of Finn's arm you tugged him away from another hornet and pushed him further down the hill, while you managed to get the adventurer away from the hornets to avoid more trouble you unfortunately got yourself surround instead.

"Y/N!" Fern called out to you, trying to get on his feet to save you but you just shouted back.

"I don't need you, I can handle this on my own!" You held your metal bat up to avoid the hornet's attacks "I was an idiot for falling for you, just go-!" 

The bat was knocked out of your hands by another hornet, ambushed by the gang of insects as you threw yourself to your ground to avoid the swarm of stings falling upon you, you did your best to dodge the stingers by rolling and crawling on the dirt. Fern felt a wave of anger rush all over him as he saw you struggling in middle of the group of hornets, he caught up to the group to slash at one of them which emitted a negative reaction from you once again.

"I said don't fight back- arghhh!!" you shouted as one of the stingers landed onto your forearm, pain shooting up from your arm into your entire body, if a normal hornet was a pain then this giant one was twice as painful.

Fern gripped the sword in hand, trembling angrily at how he kept making things worse for you, he was soon swarmed by hornets himself, loosing sight of you within a sea of black and yellow, there was a split second where he made eye contact with you and tried to apologize but the only thing he could read from your own eyes was "don't fight back"

You did your best to protect your head with your arms as you thought of a way to escape, but among the buzzing noise and the pain from your arm, your mind managed to process something wrapping around your waist- the hornets were suddenly blasted away by an unknown force, you tried to get a good look of what was happening but whatever was holding your waist violently pulled you forward and away from the hornets. You rolled downhill in the grass and dirt until you bumped into whatever had a hold on you.

"Wha-?" you looked up to the figure standing above you, trying to make out who it was since the sunlight was straining your eyes.

Your eyes widen when you saw Finn, but it wasn't Finn, his usual robotic arm was replaced for a long vine that shifted back into a normal arm, and his skin looked like it was peeling only to reveal a layer of green.

"Come on let's get you out of here!" 

You didn't have time to fully react when a hornet was flying towards both of you, but Fern held onto you and blocked the stinger with the sword, you got on your feet and prepared to make a run for it down hill where Fern would watch out from behind. It was imposible to outrun giant hornets, both of you knew that, so when a hornet aimed to sting you Fern protected you with his body by wrapping his arms around you and allowed gravity to do it's work by tumbling you two down hill.

* * *

Once the two of you stopped rolling and were out of the hornet's territory at the bottom of the hill, you were met face to face with the grass boy himself. He tried to crack an apologetic smile but all you gave him was a rude shove.

You refused to show your face, so had your back faced to him while you dusted yourself.

"How long have you been doing this?" was all you said, in a low and monotone voice.

"A few weeks ago, when you came with the sword" Fern looked down in shame, standing on his feet as well as he tried to walk towards you.

"But Y/N i can explain!" Fern placed a hand on your shoulder which you harshly slapped away.

"You really think you can explain why you lied and played with me?!" there were no words to describe how you felt, there was a swarm of emotions swimming within you but what you could identify the most was hurt. "I'd like to see you try-" you confronted the grass boy with hot tears threatening to run down you cheeks but you refuse to let them fall.

The grass felt like the guilt was physically tightening around his heart the moment he saw your pained expression. Fern felt a knot wrap tight around his throat, preventing him to speak until he just croaked out a brief "Because i... i fell in love with you..."

You couldn't believe what you were hearing, rubbing a hand across your red teary eyes. "Are you serious? even after everything you did-? how am i supposed to believe anything you say since you've been lying to me all this time!?" you raised your voice, shaking you head as you prepared to make your way.

Fern wanted to follow you, plead you to listen what he did have to say. But he knew it would be fruitless so he allowed you to leave on your own.

The grass boy looked around to search for his sword until eventually he caught glimpse of the shiny metal not too far from him, sadly said sword was broken in half, no doubt after blocking all those stings.

He picked up the pieces and contemplated on how it was imposible to repair.

Just like your heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Alright that ended in a sad note but rest assured i'm not planning to end things this way, there's still 5 chapters up to go! :'D


	6. Guilt Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things between you and Fern are still somewhat unstable, but what if you show up and offer a way to trust him again?

He didn't feel angry.

or upset.

He felt guilty.

Fern was aware of his actions, he knew that what he was doing was wrong, yet he continued on with his plan despite the consequences he had to face.

And here he was, paying the price of his actions. Currently laying sprawled across the tree top for over a week now, the grass boy didn't move an inch as the tragic day replay in his head over and over again questioning himself if there was a different outcome, regretting the decision he made on picking that specific hill, wondering what it would've been like if he was honest from the start.

Fern shook his head lightly.

He kept dwelling into those questions and imaginary scenarios but deep down he knew that slumbering in the past was pointless, whatever was done was done, he can't take back anything he said and did so all that was left was to let things flow their natural course.

No matter how much he wanted you two to be happy together, it wasn't something he could force onto you.

Finn and Jake took notice on Fern's behavior, especially since he has been in a rather good mood lately so seeing the grass boy grow gloomy all of a sudden was a drastic change. Finn being the kind heart he is, wanted to comfort Fern like an older brother would but Jake suggested otherwise.

"I've seen this kind of behavior before, it's best to leave him alone cause no matter what you say it'll just fall on deaf ears. Give him some time"

"I know but..." the human boy sighed in defeat "You're right man" Finn didn't want to admit it, but he remembered the feeling when princess bubblegum rejected the feelings he had for her.

* * *

Fern had his eyes closed as he released the 100th sigh that day  


It wasn't until he felt a shadow cast over his face, blocking the sunlight from his already bright green face.

"I said i wanted to be left alone guys-" Fern spoke automatically without even opening his eyes, assuming Finn or Jake came up to check on him again.

"Ehem-" you coughed into your fist, trying to catch the other's attention.

Of course, once Fern heard your voice he immediately stood up from his spot, but not without stumbling a few times. "(Y/N)! uh... I... what brings you-?" the grass rubbed his shoulder ready to speak until you spoke out quicker than him.

"I'm sorry Fern, but I really need to talk to you first"

The grass boy was taken aback with the sternness in your voice, but he allows you to speak out first by giving you some space with a nod. It wasn't til now he noticed how different your clothing was to your usual attire, especially the large backpack on your shoulders. Where you planning to go somewhere?

"Listen, I've been thinking about this for a while. Even if i do forgive you, I can't just trust you all of a sudden, so after much consideration I've come with two options. I could either just leave Ooo and explore other islands without looking back-" you contemplated.

"Or...?" Fern added with a glimpse of hope.

"Or, you could try to gain my trust again" you said solemnly.

Fern was hopeful and determined with the second option however knowing you, he felt it wasn't going to be an easy task.

"Have you ever heard of a cave system called Wander's Grave?" you crossed your arms over your chest to see Fern shake his head to the sides.

"The place built up quite a reputation throughout the years. It's an area where only experienced adventurers and scavengers explore, like its name says anyone who just wander there unknowingly ends ups dead in less than a few days. It's a tough journey which requires more than one person to get out alive... It's hard for me to forgive you, but if you're determined to make things work then we can either learn to work together and rebuild what we had or we get injured in the process."

It wasn't like you were giving him high hopes but instead it felt more like a gamble.

A gamble Fern was more than ready to make.

"Then I'll do whatever it takes!"

You responded with a silent nod "Very well then, let's get going" you turned your back on him ready to walk away.

"Wait, you mean right now?" Fern followed suite right behind you.

"Yeah I'd like to solve this dilemma as soon as possible" you explained as you lowered yourself down the latter.

"Well, we could just talk it out-"

"I think actions can speak more than words this time" was your only dry response.

"hmm, okay just let me tell the boys first" Fern separated from you for a moment so he could poke his head into the living room where Finn and Jake were still playing video games.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna go on a dangerous trip with (y/n)" Fern called out to the brothers who continued playing their video game.

"Have fun!" was all they said.

Fern was glad to have a pair of chill brothers, so he grabbed a random battle axe from the wall and headed out of the tree house with you.

* * *

The air between you two was rather tense and awkward. You could occasionally feel Fern try to walk a bit closer to you and make small talk but honestly you weren't in the mood for it, so every attempt he made was fruitless. But dang, was he persistent.

"Do you want to go and but some water before we reach the caves?" he asked.

"No, I already pack all my necessities in this backpack" you shot down his offer.

"Nice, nice..." Fern slumped his shoulders a bit, looking around to notice how the grasslands turned into a pine forest becoming denser the more they walked.

You looked at the grass boy through your side view, taking note on how his own equipment consisted of a simple weapon.

"What about yourself? Is that axe the only thing you're bringing?"

Fern eyed the weapon strapped on his back for a brief second before shrugging. "Yeah, I mean, I don't necessarily need to eat food to sustain myself that much"

"Yeah right" You rolled your eyes, continuing with your walk.

"So... what can you tell me about Wander's Grave?" the grass brought up, hoping to improve your mood.

You pursued your lips together, hands grasping the straps of your backpack.

"It's a huge underground environment with its own unique ecosystem and creatures, connected by a system of extensive caves like a deep hole, one way in and one way out or so they say. It's popular among scavengers since there's a rich amount of minerals, crystals and strange treasures, especially in the lower levels."

"Cool, do you go there often?"

"Not really since I don't like joining large raiding groups, like I said it's not suitable for one person only, anything can go wrong without some help, the environment is hostile the deeper you go, not just the area itself but there are also thieves and monsters crawling around. Sure, I might know how to get around in cave areas, but anything could happen, a misstep, poisoning, I could get attacked, eaten, etc. Hence why I have you here, I need you so i can stay alive and you need me to get out"

Fern found it hard to swallow, he understood the gravity of your words the more you talked about the caverns along the way, regretting not coming more prepared like you  
Fern found it hard to swallow, he understood the gravity of your words the more you talked about the caverns along the way, regretting not coming more prepared like you. Eventually the both of you two reached a slope that was aimed downward, at the bottom of the slope there was what looked to be a cave entrance with a rock shaped like a tombstone that read "Wanderer's Grave"

"It's a 20-meter drop from here on" you explained, pulling out your own set of rope.

Fern offered a smile with his expanded vine like arms "I could lower us down in a gist!" he prepped.

You on the other hand just shook your head "I can lower myself down, you can jump after me once I check the coast is clear" your voice was stubborn and stern, but Fern accepted your terms nevertheless.

"Ohh... okay, I'll uh, just wait here till you tell me you reached there safely" the grass boy gave you a thumbs up. To which you replied with a dry "Sure"

While you tied your rope to a secure tree trunk, Fern took a moment to lean against the tree and watch you lower yourself down the cave.

The grass boy felt like you were starting to leave him out a lot during this trip, he didn't blame you since he messed up big time and he wasn't expecting you to forgive him anytime soon. So, for now Fern decided he would try his best to win your trust back, that's why he chooses this trip idea after all. He would do all in his power to keep you safe and hopefully work things out, either if you decide to be friends again or not. It didn't take long for the grass to realize it has been a whole 10 minutes since you left, he poked his head into the cave hole and called out "Y/N are you alright?" his voice echoed through the hole with no response.

* * *

10 minutes earlier while you were making the trip downwards, you couldn't stop thinking about how unfair you were acting towards Fern.

You can tell he's trying to talk to you more but you just found it difficult to even look at him.

You feel hurt, angry, betrayed and stupid for not realizing you were being tricked, those were strong feeling that just can't be ignored so easily- especially when you're with the person who's causing them. You reached the bottom of the cave with a sigh, the dirt was firm and the air felt moister than the surface level, nodding to yourself that it was a good call to bring different clothing.

The entrance is not dark that's for sure, since it's the closest to the surface level. So, everything was fairly well lit with sunlight peeking from the cave you just came in, the ambiance also felt a whole lot fresher, with green plant life still blooming here and there.

Once you unhooked the rope around you and gave a good look around, you were ready to call Fern until a noise caught your attention. Your hand automatically went for your baseball bat until something was smacked against your hand, dropping the bat in the process.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? A newbie scavenger who got lost will looking for dumb rocks?" the owner of the voice soon appearing from behind a group of plants.

The voice wasn't alone since you were soon surrounded by bandits.

"But hey, good for us since you scavengers always carry objects of worth"

One of the bandits yanked your baseball bat away from you along with your backpack

"Give that back you low life oof-!" you were kicked in the stomach before you even had a chance to recover your things, forcing you to lower down on your knees.

"Hey boss, all that she's carrying is climbing gear and supplies" on of the minions informed after opening your backpack.

"Huh, well what do you know, you were actually planning to explore the grave?" the leader of the bandits taunted you "Aw, that's too bad. Looks like your adventure just ended before you could even start" the leader leaned closer to you. To which you took the advantage to land a punch on them, making them angrier but dang did it feel good.

After recovering from the punch, the leader looked back at you furiously "Why you little-!"

Before they could land a hand on you, one of the bandits was pulled upward by an unknown force, alerting the rest of the group "Uh boss, something isn't right-" one of them called out before they were taken as well.

You just cracked up a smirk "You forgot the basic rule of the grave bandit..." you stood up from your spot as the rest of the bandits were taken one by one, only to reveal Fern lowering himself from the ceiling with his vine like arms, standing confidently right behind the bandit.

"...Never wander alone" you kicked the bandit leader right in the stomach with enough force to send them back, only to be tossed way further thanks to Fern's vines.

You stood there triumphantly, your smile faltering when you faced Fern.

"You were taking long, so when I heard you shout, I came as soon as possible" he extended his arm to retrieve you backpack while you grabbed your fallen baseball bat.

"I..." you didn't even know what to say, unsure on how you're even supposed to feel. Fern scratched the back of his neck, but he stood firm and assertive.

"Look. I know you are mad at me; I don't blame you, I messed up, I hurt you bad. But I really want to fix things between us and I know a part of you wants that too since you came up with this trip idea. I'm going to try to do my part, but I need you to cooperate as well or we'll never come to an understanding- you need me and I need you, so, what do you say? Truce?" Fern offered his hand to you, which you doubt before accepting his hand shake, but not without looking at him in the eye.

"You're right about that, but understand that for now we're just exploration allies, not friends and especially nothing more. Got it?" you said just as firm, not breaking eye contact until he answered.

"Got it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> p> **A/N:** Looks like things are still bumpy between reader and fern, but maybe this trip can makes things end for the best... or the worst? just one way to find out. So the plot will continue for about 4 more chapters and probably an epilogue or bonus chapter i don't know yet, i'll still be updating this story every two weeks while i'll occasionally update my other stuff although it's not my main priority rn.
> 
> Also, let me know if you guys want a drawing on how the new outfit for reader is like, or if you made a drawing of it your own interpretation i'd love to see it! <3
> 
> Oh and don't feel shy to let me know what you think in the comments on how the story is going so far n.n


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